Nigeria has deported 102 foreign nationals, including 60 Chinese and 39 Filipinos, after convicting them of cybercrime and online fraud, the country’s anticorruption agency said on Thursday.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the mass deportation as part of a wider crackdown on online scams, where victims were tricked into fake cryptocurrency investments through romance and phishing schemes.

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale told AFP that another batch – 39 Filipinos, 10 Chinese and 2 Kazakhs – had also been deported since mid-August, with more removals planned in the coming days.

The EFCC shared photos of men in face masks lined up at Lagos airport, being processed for flights out of the country.

The deportees were among 792 people arrested last December in Victoria Island, one of Lagos’s wealthiest districts. Of those, 192 were foreign nationals — with 148 Chinese citizens making up the majority.

Nigeria has long battled a reputation for online fraudsters, known locally as “Yahoo Boys.” The EFCC says foreign gangs are increasingly setting up operations inside the country, recruiting Nigerians to target victims abroad.

According to the agency, the scams mostly hit people in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe, tricking them into sending money or giving up sensitive data like bank passwords.

Experts say today’s schemes are more sophisticated than ever, using advanced digital tools to create convincing fake investment opportunities. Victims often pour in their savings, business funds or borrowed money — only to see it vanish.

Cybersecurity specialists also warn that foreign syndicates are exploiting Nigeria’s weak online security systems, making the country a hotspot for large-scale digital fraud.